Over the years, growing numbers of individuals have chosen to spend their leisure time pleasure boating on inland lakes and open waters. Primary leisure activities associated with pleasure boating are swimming and water skiing. An objective of watercraft designs is to permit easy and safe entrance and exit from the water onto the pleasure boat or watercraft.
Accessory designs specifically crafted for entering and exiting the water in the form of swim ladders and the like are known in the art. One popular device on both small and large watercraft is a swim platform. Swim platforms are typically permanent platforms that extend rearward from a lower portion of the rear or transom of the watercraft and allow one or more swimmers to easily push or pull themselves in and out of the water.
It is popular for watercraft operators intending to swim to maneuver and anchor their watercraft in relatively shallow water so swimmers can casually wade in the water and touch the bottom of the lake or sea while swimming. In order to maneuver in shallow water, the outboard motor or outdrive portion of stern drive systems that protrude and extend rearward of the transom of watercraft must be raised or angled upward so the propeller or water jet propulsion system is less likely to contact the bottom of the lake.
A common problem, and one of great concern for boat owners and users alike, is that when the outdrive is in a raised or angled position, often a large portion of the outdrive and, in particular, the propeller blades, extend rearward past the swim platform. Of farther concern is that raised the outdrive propeller is usually just slightly below the surface of the water and not readily visible to swimmers intending to enter the water from the swim platform This is a further concern on larger vessels having two or more outdrives. In all but the largest of watercraft, at least a portion of the raised outdrive remains exposed beyond the swim platform. In the smallest of pleasure craft, not having swim platforms, a portion of the outdrive is exposed even in the fully down or lowered position.
Prior boating accessories such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,136 enclose or cover a portion of the outdrive or lower unit of an outboard motor through use of boots or cushioned bags which are placed around the outdrive to protect the outdrive from damage and to protect swimmers from undesired contact with the unit. Such boots or covers are problematic in that the boot only covers a portion of the outdrive unit and leaves the upper portion uncovered and subject to contact by swimmers or watercraft users. Further, such boots are complex in configuration, are difficult to install and remove from the outdrive and are subject to damage if the watercraft propulsion system is engaged while the boot is installed.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an outdrive guard improving the problematic conditions that is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use and provides increased safety and peace of mind for boat owners, passengers and swimmers.